


Cat's Cradle

by RavenDarkwood



Series: Summer Sun, Strawberry Moon [1]
Category: Moominvalley (Cartoon 2019), Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson
Genre: F/M, Father-Son Relationship, Good Parent Joxaren | The Joxter, Joxaren | The Joxter Meets Snusmumriken | Snufkin, Joxter is also a cat, Joxter's forebodings are kinda just precognition so sorry for that I just think it's fun, M/M, Original Mythology, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sickfic, Snusmumriken | Snufkin Has Paws and a Tail, Snusmumriken | Snufkin is a Cat, Troubles getting pregnant mentioned, lot of headcanons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2020-04-08 01:46:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19097257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenDarkwood/pseuds/RavenDarkwood
Summary: During an overwhelmingly warm summer, an old friend of Moominpappa's turns up.For the first time in a long time, he decides to stay.





	1. When you coming home, Dad?

Deep in the dark of night a figure pause in his wanderings, realizing where he was, how close he was to Moominvalley.

He hadn’t been there in years. Decades? He wasn’t sure.

His fingers twitched as he realized how uneasy he was feeling. The feeling of foreboding was building in the back of his mind as he stared longer and longer towards Moominvalley.

It had been so long since he had visited. He may as well pop in, see how his old friend was doing.

* * *

It was a dry summer day. Really, the entire summer thus far had been very dry and unusually hot. It was days like this that really made Moomin happy they lived near a stream.  


Moomin strolled out of his front door with a basket on his arm. Moominmamma had promised to make preserves if he found enough fruit, and he just so happened to know they had a peach tree currently in fruit in their orchard.

He could already taste the peach preserves.

Now he justs had to get to them before anyone else did.

He spotted Snufkin on his way out, who had even shed his coat and scarf in the heat. He was fishing off of the bridge, but given that he was paying more attention to a bit of string he was playing with then the pole Moomin couldn’t imagine that it was going particularly well. 

Moomin gave him a wave, and received a wave in return, not that Snufkin really looked up from what he was doing. “Snufkin! I’m going to pick some peaches! Do you want to come with?” Moomin yelled.

“I’m going to try fishing a bit longer! I’ll join after that!” Snufkin yelled back.

“Alright!” And with that Moomin was off. Spending time with Snufkin was great, but they had the rest of summer and all of autumn, and it wasn’t like he was going particularly far.  


The Moomin family orchard was planted just a touch east of Moominmamma’s vegetable garden, and already a lot of their trees were giving fruit. Moomin wove his way through the trees to their peach tree.

Giggling to himself he approached the tree but paused when he noticed that not only where there far fewer peaches on the tree then there should be, but a bunch of pitts were scattered on the ground.

“Little My,” Moomin huffed, figuring that he should at least take what he could. If there wasn’t enough then maybe Moominmamma could add berries to it?

The tree shook a bit as Moomin reached for a peach. “Um… hello?” He called up at the tree as he backed away from it, not really expecting it to answer, and therefore was incredibly surprised when he heard a deep, soft, and rather monotone voice answering him back, in an accent that he didn’t recognize.

“Hello.”

Moomin angled his head back, trying to search the tree for what exactly was talking to him. There was a shifting, and from the leaves staring back at him were two almond-shaped eyes with slit pupils.

He gasped, backing up even further, and the whatever in the tree laughed before those eyes disappeared back into the leaves.

“Wa-Wait, um, what are you doing in our peach tree?” Moomin sat down the basket, moving closer to see if he could manage to see whatever it was closer, but whatever it was seemed pretty talented at remaining unseen.

“Well, I _was_ sleeping.” There was movement higher up in the tree and those eyes appeared again. “And I intend to get back to it. Good day.” And then they were gone.  


Moomin watched for a few moments, not at all sure what to do. He watched as a black-furred paw with positively dangerous looking claws caught one of the peaches, ripped it from the branch, and pulled into the leaves.

A few moments later the pit fell.

Moomin shifted his grip on his basket, standing there for a moment or two, just staring up at the tree. “I’m… going to go get my parents,” he told the whatever that was in the tree. Not that it seemed to hear him.

Glancing back every few moments Moomin started back towards his house. Once he was out of sight line of the tree he started running.

* * *

Moominpappa lead the way to the peach tree, with Moominmamma and Moomintroll following behind him.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to get anything? Because it definitely has claws,” Moomin said as he eyed the orchard.

“Nonsense, he wouldn’t dare hurt me,” Moominpappa said without even turning around. He walked right up to the peach tree and glared up at the leaves. “Joxter you lazy tramp, get out of my peach tree!”

“Moomintroll?” Those eyes appeared again, staring, unblinking, down at them. “Though it’s ‘Moominpappa’ now, isn’t it?” The narrow pupils flickered towards Moomintroll before going back to the patriarch. “Congratulations, I had a feeling you two would manage.”

“You can congratulate me once you’ve introduced yourself properly.”

“Oh, I thought that was as decent an introduction as I’ve ever given. You should be lucky I didn’t break another one of your windows.”

“Introductions don’t often leave people running to get others.”

“Oh, but mine often do.”

“Now dear,” Moominmamma said as he walked forward to join her husband at the base of the tree. “Maybe we should just let him stay there."

“But darling he’s eating all our peaches. He can’t even digest them properly, he’s just going to make himself sick.”

“He’ll come down when he’s good and ready.”

There was a loud huff from the peach tree and some rustling of leaves before something feel out of it and landed on all fours before straightening up. He was a bit shorter than them and was wearing a dark green coat but a bright red hat. The hat cast his face in shadows so that the only thing Moomin could really make out was his very blue eyes.

“I suppose I should get this over with so I can get back to sleep,” he said wearily. 

“Not before you can come inside for a bit of lunch first. It’s been so long, I must show you my memoir. I have so many tales to tell, and we have so much to talk about,” Moominpappa said as he wrapped his arm around his shoulders and began leading him towards the Moominhouse, and Moomintroll.

“So much,” the cat-like creature said dryly.

“Um… Hello, I’m Moomintroll,” Moomin said with a wave as he stepped in front of the two of them.

“Oh yes, Joxter this is my son Moomintroll. Moomin, this is The Joxter. We traveled together in my youth.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Moomin said politely, holding out his paw for a shake.

“Nice to meet you as well,” Joxter said with a tip of his hat, seemingly delighted to ignore Moomin outstretched paw if the way that he was grinning was any indication.  


Moomin watched as the two of them walked past, letting out a small huff of his own. “Not very polite.”

“Oh, I don’t think he meant any insult by it. The Joxter simply enjoys doing what he feels is the opposite of expectations. When he has the energy to, at least,” Moominmamma explained as she stopped next to him. She placed a paw on Moomin’s shoulder. “Is…” She trailed off, pausing for a moment before continuing again. “Pappa and Joxter are going to have quite a bit to talk about. Why don’t you leave them to it? I’m sure they would appreciate the gesture.”

“Yes... of course…” Moomin glanced questioningly towards the Moominhouse at the odd request. “I’ll just go hang out with Snufkin then.”

“Don’t wander far, I’m sure Pappa will want to call you back soon.”

Moomin gave her a nod and watched as she walked back inside, his eyes lingering on the house before walking off to join Snufkin.

“Busy fishing I see,” Moomin said as he sat down.

Snufkin laughed but didn’t look up from the string he had worked into a pattern around his fingers. “Nothing seems to be biting. How did your peach picking go?”

“Not very well. Apparently one of Pappa’s old friends decided to eat most of them.” If this came out a bit bitter then Moomin couldn’t help it, he was really looking forward to the preserves.

“Oh, so that’s why you got them,” Snufkin said mildly, finally looking up at Moomin and holding out the string pattern he had made.

Moomin raised his paw, and then paused, not entirely sure what he was supposed to do. He glanced over Snufkin’s face, but it gave away nothing but playful mischief. With no other ideas, Moomin stuck his paw right through the center opening of the pattern.

Quick as a cat catching a mouse Snufkin pulled the red string by his middle fingers, leaving the pattern to collapse around Moomin’s wrist. “It seems I caught you.”

Moomin laughed quietly, leaning towards Snufkin. “It seems you have.”

Smiling Snufkin ducked his head down so that the hat covered his face as he went about untangling Moomin from his trap.

Letting his mind wander a bit Moomin looked back at his house.“I wonder what they’re talking about. Mamma was very particular about me leaving them be.”

“Everyone is entitled to their secrets,” Snufkin said, not even looking up.

“Well, I know a secret,” said Little My, who had just jumped up onto Moomin’s shoulder.

Moomin yelped and stood up, almost dragging Snufkin with him. 

Little My had jumped down just in time, very much used to this reaction. “I managed to hear it before Moominmamma threw me out.” She then noticed their predicament. “How did that happen?” She asked, gesturing to the string.

“Never you mind. And Snufkin’s right, everyone is entitled to their secrets.” Moomin settled back down on the bridge and paused. “But if you’re just going to tell us anyway…”

Snufkin sighed a bit but made no real effort to stop either of them and went back to his untangling.

“Pappa just told Joxter about his kid. He dropped one of Mamma’s good tea cups. Guess Mother’s letter never reached him. Or the kid, for that matter.”

“Oh does your mother know him too?” asked Moomin.

“He was one of Mother’s beaus. He stuck around the longest. They didn’t manage to have a kid until he had already left though.”

“What happened to the child?” asked Snufkin, his earlier opinion seemingly forgotten.

“Well, I have no idea. That kid was absolutely miserable with us, so when we heard that Joxter was seen at an inn in the south Mother sent him a letter, and the kid with a neighbor that was traveling that way. Looks like neither reached him.”

“How awful,” said Moomin, looking sadly backup at the house. “What was the kid’s name?”

“We called him Snusmumrik, but I doubt that it still is. If he’s still alive.”

“Little My, don’t say things like that,” scolded Moomin.

“Well, it’s true. Though that little mumrik was always wandering off and getting into trouble. We barely had to take care of him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he managed to survive.”

“Growing up without parents isn’t that much of a hardship,” Snufkin tried to reassure, reaching out and placing his paw on top of Moomin’s, and ignoring the retching sound that Little My made. “I’m sure that the child is fine.”

To their left, a door opened and closed.

Moominpappa walked out onto the veranda, with Joxter right behind him. Joxter paused on the edge of the veranda, but Moominpappa kept walking.

“Snufkin!” called Moominpappa. “Would you mind coming here for a moment?”

The three of them froze.

Moomin felt Snufkin’s grip tighten on his paw.

On the veranda, Joxter took off his hat and held it in his paws in front of him. His features were angled and sharp and rather feline looking. Instead of ears like Snufkin and Little Mys’ his ears were in about the same place, but much more cat-like. He was even almost completely covered in fur, even down to his forehead and nose. It was mostly black, with a bit of dark brown here and there, whether in a pattern he couldn’t recognize or where the sun had lightened it Moomin wasn’t sure. What he was sure of was even with all these differences Joxter did look a great deal like Snufkin.

Moomin looked over at the other two. Little My was squinting at Snufkin. Snufkin was staring past Moominpappa at Joxter. Moominpappa was still on his way over. Joxter hadn’t moved from the veranda.

Snufkin got up and began to walk forward in even steps.

He paused only a few moments to talk with Moominpappa, and then was back to walking towards the Joxter.

And then he was running.

His hat had flown off and Snufkin didn’t seem to care.

Joxter didn’t move at first and had even taken a half step back when he saw Snufkin run at him.

Snufkin stopped a few feet from the steps. Joxter made his way off of the veranda and stood in front of Snufkin, hat still in paw.

Joxter was only stood up to the bridge of Snufkin’s nose.

Someone cleared their throat.

Moomin jumped again, looking over to see his Pappa holding Snufkin’s hat.

He handed the hat over to Moomin and patted his shoulder. “Best to just leave them to it. They have a lot to catch up on.”

As Moominpappa walked away Moomin looked down at Snufkin’s hat, and the red string still wrapped around his wrist.


	2. Candles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calm Sea

Snufkin had never really known what to expect from his father, and he hadn’t really thought about it since he was very little. He certainly didn’t expect his father to be shorter than him, nor have whiskers as long as his shoulders. The hairstyle was more familiar, and Snufkin recognized it from how his hair had once been cut, as Joxter’s hair had obviously pulled into a low ponytail and cut across with a knife.

Maybe this was a weird thing to find familiar, but it was so much easier than looking at this stranger’s face and recognizing bits of his own.

Joxter’s eyes were also very much not like his, and he wasn’t even looking at Snufkin’s face. Snufkin followed his sightline and found that the Joxter was looking at Snufkin’s paws, which Snufkin had grasping onto his own suspenders from lack of jacket pockets to shove them into.

Snufkin looked at Joxter’s paws, which were clutching his hat, and found them rather similar to his own, which was interesting. And that was a very nice hat.

Snufkin looked back up and saw the pale blue eyes looking at his face.

Joxter’s hair was also interesting. It just looked like the fur on the rest of him but longer. How interesting.

“It’s nice to meet you Snufkin.” The voice was much softer then he had imagined. How. Interesting.

“Likewise.” Snufkin messed with his suspenders for a moment, really wishing that he had put his jacket back on before coming over. “What brings you this way?”

“Oh, I wanted to see the ocean again and realized how close I was to Moominvalley, so I figured I should visit.” Joxter didn’t seem to need to blink that often, which was. Interesting.

“I can show you the ocean,” Snufkin said, which he meant to be polite but came out much faster than he had intended.

“I know the way,” Joxter said, and then he blinked. “Though it has been a very long time. Maybe you should show me.”

Snufkin nodded and walked a few feet away before looking back at Joxter. “It’s not that far of a walk. Follow me.” 

Snufkin lead them, and Joxter followed so quietly that Snufkin looked back several times to make sure that he was still following.

* * *

Joxter looked out at the ocean, letting out a small hum as he sat down. “Not quite what I was expecting.”

Snufkin blinked twice, glancing between Joxter and the ocean. “Have you seen the ocean before this?”

“Oh of course I have, I sailed on it before. It’s… hmm, how do I explain? Give me a moment.” Joxter laid back, placed his hat over his eyes, and went quiet. And he stayed quiet for so long that Snufkin thought that he had fallen asleep. “Do you know what Romance-with-a-big-r is?”

“Well, the way you phrased it makes it seem different than regular romance.”

“You’re right. Romance-with-a-big-r is an art thing.” Joxter hadn’t removed his hat from his eyes, and waved his paw around lazily as he spoke. “From what I remember it was something that caused a deep and intense stirring emotion inside of you, for good or bad. I should be in awe, I suppose. I think I should love it as dearly as family and friends and lovers because it feels so familiar and welcoming and constant, and fear it as much as death or any other abstract concept that threatens to swallow me whole, kill me, and remove any trace of myself in this world. My desire to see this ocean again is the reason I came, but whatever I expected to find isn’t here. And really, I should have known better.” He hummed again, sitting up to watch the water and shrugged. “I suppose, overall, I am fond of it. Do you like the ocean?”

“I love it more than almost anything,” Snufkin muttered.

Joxter was quiet for a few moments and smiled at him. “Smart of you.” Joxter laid back down and stretched himself out. “So, how long are you going to be in Moominvalley?”

Snufkin tapped his fingers along his knee to stop himself from reaching for a hat that wasn’t there. “Until the end of Autumn.”

“Oh, so it’s your home base.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Snufkin said hurriedly.

“You wouldn’t?” Joxter was peaking out at him from under his hat, and Snufkin could swear that there were flecks of gold in Joxter’s eye around the pupil, where there hadn’t been before. “Why not?”

“I’m a wanderer! A vagabond! My home is my tent and the road. I could hardly call myself one if I didn’t.” Snufkin tried to watch Joxter’s face because of all people surely he would understand.

Joxter’s expression didn’t give away anything, and he didn’t say anything for a few long minutes. “I find that it’s important to have someplace safe, where the young can live without fear and the sick can have time to heal. Where I grew up didn’t have many, but here there is plenty. And Moominvalley is the safest of them all.” Joxter settled back down. “Wanting is very important too. I wanted to see the ocean and now I’m here.”

“The ocean didn’t live up to your expectations,” Snufkin pointed out.

Joxter waved that off with his paw. “The ocean has more important things to do.”

They settled back into silence. Snufkin kept glancing over at Joxter, and each time he looked back he was still there. “How long are you going to be in Moominvalley?”

Joxter was quiet for a long while, and when he looked over at Snufkin the gold was gone from his eyes. “I’ve been traveling for such a long time, I want to stay in one place for just a bit.” Joxter placed his paws on his stomach and started lightly kneading his jacket, the very tips of nineteen claws reflexing the sun. “I remember the autumns in Moominvalley being so lovely, are they still?”

Snufkin pulled at the threads of his worn pants. “Yes, the most beautiful I’ve seen in a long while.”

Joxter hummed and nodded. “Then I shall stay and see them myself.” He shifted his weight in the sand, digging himself a more comfortable place to lie down in. “Something mildly bad is going to happen to me after the sun goes down.”

“What?”

* * *

“I can’t believe you’re going to keep that.”

Moomin jumped again, turning around sharply to see Little My leaning against his door frame. He tucked his hand behind his back. “Keep what? What are you talking about?”

Little My scoffed, pointing the hairbrush she had been using at where his wrist was hidden. “The string.”

“Oh. That.” Moomin lifted his wrist for both of them to look at it, or more accurately, the red string still wrapped around it. “Well, Snufkin gave it to me,” Moomin said defensively.

“No, he didn’t! My little brother forgot about it.”

“You know Snufkin isn’t going to like you calling him that.”

“It’s true, nothing he can do to change that.”

Moomin crossed his arms, and looked down at Little My, as he so often did when he thought he was about to say something funny. “Well, in between you and him I would say you’re the little one.” He then quickly ducked to avoid the hairbrush Little My had thrown at him.

“That’s really all you could come with? That’s not even that clever.”

Moomin picked up Little My’s hairbrush, preparing for her try and snatch it back. “It seemed to work well enough.”

She, however, wasn’t even looking at Moomin anymore. “So you take his string and his hat?” Little My gave Moomin a smirk and climbed up his dresser, looking down at the hat that rested there. Snufkin’s hat to be specific, with a new wreath of flowers around it. “Did he give you that too?”

Moomin snatched up the hat before Little My could get her paws on it. “I’m just holding onto it until I see Snufkin again.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“Then go and give it back to him.” Little My pointed out the window into the night, where clearly Snufkin’s fire was visible.

“Pappa told us to leave them alone,” Moomin said without any actual conviction. It wasn’t every day that his boyfriend's father showed up, and he desperately wanted to see how Snufkin was doing.

Little My crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, it couldn’t hurt to check.”

Moomin went quiet as he debated it for a few seconds. “You’re right, it wouldn’t hurt.” He set down Snufkin’s hat and picked up his lantern. He stood in front of the window and waved his hand through the light, stopping after a bit to see if he would get a response.

A few moments and the flashing was returned. Moomin grabbed Snufkin’s hat and hurried down the ladder, with Little My following.

“Ah, I was wondering where that went. Thank you for looking after it for me,” Snufkin’s said with his hands already outstretched to take his hat back.

“No jacket again? Eventually, Mamma is going to give into temptation and steal it away so she can wash and mend it.”

Snufkin, clad in a nightshirt, wrinkled his nose as he placed his hat back on. “Don’t even suggest that. She might hear you.”

Moomin laughed, sitting down next to Snufkin.

“Why hello little brother,” Little My interrupted from behind Moomin, surprising him in the process.

Snufkin made a face. “That’s right, I forgot that I was related to you.”

“Well, me and all my siblings.” Little My smiled toothily at Snufkin, obviously baiting him.

Snufkin seemed to know this too and managed to leave the question alone for at least two whole minutes. “How many siblings do you have?” Snufkin asked this as though he was asking about the weather, purposefully not looking at her.

She was watching Snufkin’s face gleefully, waiting a few seconds before answering. “Excluding us we have thirty-five siblings.”

“Thirty-five?” Snufkin whispered, as if he was quieter than the horror of this answer would just walk on by and not notice him.

“Don’t forget all the dads too, can’t wait to bring you along to a family reunion.” Little My raised her voice a bit, clearly enjoying the effect this was having on Snufkin.

Snufkin looked rather pale. “That’s… seventy people…”

“Give or take a few here or there. Mym always said she wanted a large family,” said a new voice.

The three of them turned around to see a sopping wet Joxter walking towards them. “Don’t ask, and one of you budge over. I’m absolutely freezing.” He sat down close to the fire and held out his paws to warm them.

“You don’t have a large family, do you?” Snufkin asked like he was grasping a rope thrown to him.

Joxter took a bit to answer, as was usual for him it seemed. “Well, it’s not like Mymble’s family, but it is an extended family that lives closely together. When we’re young at least. It hardly matters, anyway. The ship got lost in a storm coming here, so I don’t think I could find my way back if I wanted to.” He paused. “I’ve been oddly introspective today, and I’m not quite sure I like it. But I don’t have any siblings Snufkin, just cousins of various relations.”

“I’m so sorry, I couldn’t imagine what I would do if that happened to me,” Moomin said.

Joxter only shrugged and laid down. “Well, that’s the ocean for you.”

“What happened to your ear?” Little My asked suddenly.

Joxter touched his ear, which had a little notch taken out of it at the bottom. “I had an earring. Don’t anymore.”

“I would like to be alone.”

Joxter, Little My, and Moomin all turned to Snufkin, who was looking into the fire.

“I was wondering when that would happen. See you in the morning, little brother,” teased Little My, and she walked back towards Moominhouse laughing to herself.

Joxter watched Snufkin for a good long while before getting up, walking a good distance away, and laid down in the grass.

Moomin stood up but hesitated. “Are you alright?”

Snufkin huffed, standing up himself. “Yes, I’m fin-” He hadn’t been looking Moomin in the face, and his eyes found the red string still on Moomin’s wrist.

“Snufkin?”

Snufkin looked up and away, making a face as he messed with the sleeve of his nightshirt. When he did start speaking it was so quiet that Moomin was having trouble hearing. “I went from having no parents to suddenly having a father, a mother, and thirty-six half-siblings. And my father is here, I just… need time.”

Moomin nodded and looked around to make sure no one was watching and quickly pressed his snout carefully to Snufkin’s nose for a quick kiss. “I’ll see you in the morning then.”  


Snufkin nodded, giving Moomin a tired smile. “The morning. Sleep well.”

“You do the same,” Moomin said with a small wave as he headed back inside.

Snufkin watched with a smile and sat back down in front of the fire.

He stayed there for a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone's enjoying how I'm characterizing Joxter so far. I'm defiantly going to be messing about with Joxter's ability to see the future because that is so cool.


	3. Upturned Cradle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A conversation is started.

A loud yowl echoed through Moominvalley startling Snufkin awake.

Snufkin sat up, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand. He listened to the world outside and heard the stream, the morning birds, and a rather angry sounding Moominpappa.

“Why were you just laying in the grass?”

And then a groaning Joxter. “I can’t believe you stepped on me..”

Ah.

Snufkin got dressed much quicker than he usually would and exited the tent to see Moominpappa glaring down at some long grass.

“Well, I couldn’t even see you!”

“I don’t see how that’s my fault.”

“ _You don’t see_ \- wait, are your clothes damp?”

“Yes, they were absolutely soaked last night. I was hoping that they would dry by morning..”

“ _You slept in wet clothes_? You could be well on your way to getting sick. Come along inside so Mamma can look over you.”

“I want to lay here instead.”

Moominpappa let out an angry huff. “No, none of that. Come on.” With that, he reached into the grass and started clearly dragging something towards Moominhouse.

“Oh, good morning Snufkin!” Standing just a bit away was Moomintroll, Snorkmaiden, and Sniff, all of whom had been watching this. Moomin was waving him over.

“Good morning,” Snufkin said after he walked over.

“So that’s your papa then,” Snorkmaiden said, looking pointedly towards where Moominpappa was struggling to pull Joxter up the front doorsteps.

Snufkin looked at Moomin.

Moomin held up his hands defensively. “I didn’t know it was a secret.”

“It’s not, it’s just…” Snufkin trailed off.

After a few moments, Snorkmaiden spoke. “Still, it must be really exciting, finally meeting your papa.”

“Is that what I’m supposed to call him?” Snufkin asked, without even meaning too.

There was a long stretch of quiet.

“Oh, Snufkin-” Moomin started.

“Don’t. I just…” Snufkin shrugged a bit and messed around with his hat. “I haven’t had a father before, so I wouldn’t know what to call him.”

“Snufkinpappa, of course,” Sniff said. “That’s what we call Moomin’s papa.”

“Moominpappa is called that because that’s what he is,” Snorkmaiden explained. “The same way I’m called Snorkmaiden.”

“And Snufkinpappa is Snufkin’s papa,” Sniff argued.

“No, Moomins and Snorks are what our species are,” Moomin said.

“Well, what species are Snufkin and Snufkin’s papa?”

The three of them looked at Snufkin, who just sort of shrugged. “Well, he is called Joxter, so Joxters then?”

Sniff nodded, crossing his arms and looking like he had just solved a puzzle. “Joxterpappa then. And that would mean that Snufkin’s name is actually Joxtertroll then.”

Moomin chuckled. “Joxtercat, probably.”

“Joxterkitten,” Snorkmaiden giggled.

“My name is Snufkin.”

There was another beat of silence.

“We know that Snufkin, we’re just messing around,” Moomin said, reaching out a paw.

“I know. No harm done.” Snufkin gave Moomin a smile.

A door opened and closed, and they looked over to see Moominpappa step out onto the veranda. He went to sit down, and when he spotted them started waving. “Good morning!”

A chorus of good mornings were yelled back along with a bit of waving as they made their way over.

“Is everything alright?” Snufkin asked as he sat down on the steps.

“Oh, Joxter’s a bit colder than he should be, nothing a bit of rest, warmth, Moominmamma, and writing can’t fix.” Moominpappa motioned to the books and papers on the table before him. “I’m working on this years play, and I’m sure that and a bit of literature will have him feeling fit as a fiddle in no time.”

“What play will it be this year?” Moomin asked as he sat down next to Snufkin.

“Will there be treasure?” Sniff asked as he leaned against the railing.

“How many roles will I have?” Snorkmaiden asked as she leaned next to Sniff.

The door opened again and Joxter came out swaddled in blankets, looking rather put out. “Moominmamma won’t stop coddling me,” he said as he collapsed into the chair across from Moominpappa.

“Is she now?” Moominpappa said, rolling his eyes in everything but action. He messed about with some of the papers in front of him until he found the ones he wanted. “It’s going to be the same story as last year, but with some improvements.”

“Your memoir again?” Moomin asked.

“A memoir? You can’t be that old?” Joxter asked, squinting at Moominpappa.

Moominpappa let out a huffy sigh before handing the papers over to Joxter. “The play is about my life from being left at the orphanage to meeting Moominmamma. Moomintroll will be playing me, Sniff will be playing The Muddler, Snork will be playing Hodgkins, and Snorkmaiden will be playing all the women's roles.”

“Oh.” Joxter didn’t even glance down at the pages that he was handed. “Who will be playing me?”

Moominpappa was quiet for a moment, coughed a bit, and looked away.

“Ah,” Joxter said as he handed the papers back. “I see.”

“Now don’t take it personally-”

“I don’t.”

“Hang on,” Moomin interrupted. “You’re in Pappa’s memoir?”

Joxter shrugged a bit and leaned back, practically disappearing into the blankets. “I should be. I sailed on the Oshun Oxtra too.”

“You did?” Sniff asked, standing up onto his tiptoes to try and see him a bit better.

“I did. Though apparently not in this version,” Joxter said as he leveled a stare at Moominpappa.

“There was no one to play you,” Moominpappa tried to explain.

Joxter shrugged. “I don’t really care. Though as a writer it must be interesting just how easily I was forgotten from the story. My absence didn’t seem to be noticed.”

Moominpappa winced and reached out for him. “Joxter-”

“I’ll play Joxterpappa!” Snufkin said very loudly and very suddenly.

Everyone reacted to this sudden noise, from Snorkmaiden leaning a bit away and giving Snufkin an odd look to Joxter jumping so badly that he nearly fell from his chair.

“Joxterpappa!” Moominpappa chortled, clasping Joxter on his shoulder, managing to push him even further off. “I told you!”

Joxter was busy pushing himself back into the chair, not even looking at Moominpappa. His eyes were focused on Snufkin. “You don’t have to do that, I really don’t care.”

Snufkin turned away from Joxter, looking somewhere in between him and Moominpappa. “I do. I could have learned something about you last year, even by accident, even without even knowing that you’re my father.” Snufkin tucked his hands into his pockets. “I could have been learning about you all this time.”

Joxter looked at Snufkin for a very long time, and then shuffled back into his blankets, almost completely hiding away.

“Well, it seems that I have even more rewrites to do than I originally thought,” Moominpappa said. “Though,” he continued, his voice picking up. “Artistically it really is lovely, having the sons play their fathers.”

“Is the Muddler my father?” Sniff asked suddenly, already in the process of climbing over the railing.

Moominpappa’s expression went very quickly from confused to horrified.

“What a very strange habit you’ve made for yourself,” Joxter said from deep in the blankets.

“Oh do shut up.” Moominpappa stood up and started going through his papers. “How do you think-”

“Didn’t Muddler’s parents lost themselves in a spring cleaning? Do you think he-”

“Maybe, oh dear where did I leave it-”

Joxter let out a mournful sigh. “Poor Muddler. All these years. At least I didn’t know-”

“I’ll be right back. It seems I have a letter to write.” And with that Moominpappa hurried back inside.

Joxter settled back into his chair, looking very sadly down at the papers in front of him.

“Do you think he’ll come Joxterpappa?” Sniff asked as he came to stand beside him.

“Of course he will. And Fuzzy too.”

“Oh, good.” Sniff smiled for a moment. “Who’s Fuzzy?”

“Muddler’s wife. Your mother, probably. You do resemble her.”

“Was she supposed to be in the story too?” Sniff asked, his voice rising a bit.

“So why are all calling me ‘Joxterpappa’?” Joxter asked rather suddenly.

“Well, that’s what you are. A Joxter and a papa,” explained Snorkmaiden.

Joxter leaned back, quirking an eyebrow. “Joxter is my name, not what I am.”

“What are you then?” Snufkin asked.

Joxter stared at him, blinked, and turned to look at the table. He began scratching away at it with his claws before finally answering. “We’re mumrik.”

“Mumrikpappa then,” Moomin suggested.

Joxter shrugged, still scratching at the table. “Joxter is fine if you’d like.”

Snufkin tapped his fingers along his knees, tipping his head forward.

Moomin watched Snufkin for a moment before turning his body towards Joxter. “What about Snufkin?”

Snufkin looked up sharply, one hand reaching up to grab the brim of his hat, pulling it down so that only Moomin could see his face, which looked very much like he had just swallowed a frog. His other hand was gripping his coat tightly.

Moomin gave him a bit of a smile and quickly reached out to squeeze his hand before anyone could notice.

“Snufkin can call me whatever he likes,” Joxter said noncommittally, brushing off bits of wood and paint off of the table. “I never expected-... well, I haven’t actually been a father to him.”

“Did you want to be?” Sniff asked, still sounding, quite reasonably, very upset.

Snufkin stood up stiffly and started to walk away.

“I did.” Joxter continued to scratch at the table. “I do.”

Snufkin started running.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the idea of the play comes from that it looks like that Joxter wasn't a character in the play in the Moominvalley show.


	4. Fish in a Dish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snufkin thinks and they find sketches.

Did he want a father?

Because that was the question, wasn’t it?

He didn’t need a father. He had gotten along just fine without one.

Snufkin hadn’t really been paying any attention to where he was running and now found himself deep in the forest. He sat down at the base of a tree.

What did a father even do?

He only had experience with one father.

Moominpappa.

Snufkin let out a small huff of a sigh and leaned back. He let his eyes fall closed as he listened to the world around him.

What would having a father even mean?

He had plenty of people in his life that cared deeply about him, more than he had ever imagined. Did he need one more person? But did it even hurt anything if he did?

Did it matter that Joxter wanted to be his father?

Joxter was a traveler, would it even be fair to ask why?

Why if he wanted Snufkin, why wasn’t he there? Why didn’t he even know Snufkin existed?

Snufkin huffed, pulling his hat down over his eyes as he relaxed back.

Did it even matter?

Joxter was here now.

So now there was just the question.

Did he want a father?

Well.

Well, did he not want a father?

He couldn’t say that. He wouldn’t say that he was apathetic to the choice, but the choice was just… daunting. It would change everything, and he was perfectly fine with the way things were.

But things have already changed, haven’t they? And things are always changing, and he could never make it stop. And he didn’t want to, but for this question...

It was a challenge.

Did he want a father?

Maybe when he was young. He had left childish wishes like that left in claustrophobic, controlling houses run by claustrophobic, controlling people.

But did the now nearly grown Snufkin want a father?

He didn’t need one.

But did he want one?

Snufkin huffed to himself, tipping his hat over his eyes. This should really be an easy answer, just a simple yes or no. He wasn’t much in the habit of bringing unnecessary things with him, let alone childhood misery, so the answer should be no.

But…

Did he want to say no?

No, he didn’t.

Snufkin blinked at that realization, staring up into the darkness of his hat.

He didn’t want to say no, but he couldn’t bring himself to say yes.

A loud groan echoed through the forest as Snufkin pulled his hands down his face. Why did this have to be so complicated?

Snufkin pushed himself off of the ground, righted his hat, and started off on a walk. If he would hide longer might as well enjoy himself doing it.

* * *

Moomin was still sitting on the steps of the veranda when Snufkin came back.

“Is he here?” Snufkin asked as he sat down next to Moomin.

Moomin shook his head and nodded off towards the woods. “He went off not long after you. He said he’d be back after sundown though.”

“Ah.”

Moomin waited a moment for Snufkin to continue, but when he didn’t Moomin sighed. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

Moomin let out a huff and looked over at Sniff. “I’m sorry about him, he shouldn’t have asked that.”

Snufkin settled back but didn’t say anything.

“Snufkin?”

“Look at what I found,” Moominpappa announced as he suddenly strolled out onto the veranda. He was holding a stack of thin books and set them down on the table. He opened a few, looked them over, and started passing them out. “Moominmamma’s old sketchbooks.”

“I didn’t know Mamma had sketchbooks,” Moomin said as he took the one that was passed to him. 

Snufkin opened the old, worn sketchbook he had been giving.

And he saw Joxter smiling back at him.

Snufkin blinked, and leaned down to examine the page because Joxter just looked… well, almost two decades younger.

Not much older than Snufkin was now.

The sketch was of a young Joxter grinning open-mouthed, holding what looked like a large shark tooth up against his mouth as though it was one of his own teeth. His hair was much shorter, cut evenly around his ears, and his whiskers didn’t droop at the ends.

He wouldn’t even say that the Joxter that he knows looks particularly old, just… so much more worn than the Joxter drawn here.

“Ah! Come look at this!” They all crowded around a sketch that Mooominpappa was holding out triumphantly. It was of four friends sitting on the veranda of Moominhouse. He found Joxter quite easily, who was wearing a striped shirt and leaning back against the steps with Muddler’s arm thrown over his shoulders on one side and Moominpappa’s on the other. Hodgkins sat on the other side of Moominpappa and had one arm around his shoulders. “This is when we finished Moominhouse!”

“Our fathers worked on the house with you?” Sniff asked, leaning in close to the drawing, to the point where it was obscuring other people from seeing it.

“Well, some more than others. We all lived here together for quite a while. Before we went our separate ways.”

Sniff looked up excitedly. “Do you still have some of their stuff?”

Moominpappa gave him a curious look and paused to think about it. “The Muddler was always very keen on his possessions and collections. I don’t believe we still have anything of his.”

“Moominpappa, who is this?” Snorkmaiden asked as she held out a drawing for him to see.

“Oh, that’s The Muddler and The Fuzzy.”

“My mother!” Sniff cried as he tried to snatch the sketchbook away from Snorkmaiden.

“Be careful!” Moominpappa took the book back from both of them and set it down on the table.

Snufkin’s eyes drifted back to the sketchbook and he started to flip through it. The ones that were of Joxter were usually of him sleeping in various places, some seemingly normal, but others not. Such as on the roof. Or across Hodgkins’ lap.

The oddest one that Snufkin found was of Joxter fixing what seemed to be an engine while looking very irritated at being drawn. 

Moomin looked over Snufkin’s shoulder at the drawing, quirking his head. “Oh, I hadn’t expected that.”

“Nor did I.” Snufkin closed the journal, and set it back up on the table.

They were quiet for quite a while.

“Snufkin?”

“Yes, Moomintroll?”

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

Moomin nodded but didn’t look convinced. He squeezed Snufkin’s paw gently before standing up to help his father put the sketchbooks away.

Snufkin stared off into the forest.

It was night before the saw Joxter again.

* * *

A fish dropped into the pan.

A figure sat down on the other side of the fire.

Snufkin glanced up at Joxter, and Joxter was staring at him with unblinking, reflected eyes.

He looked down and started cooking the sudden fish.

Snufkin didn’t say anything.

And neither did Joxter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to end differently, and the sketches were supposed to come up in a later chapter, but as I was writing this both felt right here.


	5. Soldier's Bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snufkin learns more about Joxter, and Joxter answers a question.

“So how exactly is Snufkin going to fall out of the window?” Moomin asked as he looked up from the script.

“Well, we’ll make the window out of very thin paper.” Moominpappa didn’t even look up from his papers.

“Oh, all right.” Moomin nodded a bit. “And just how far will he be falling?”

“Oh, don’t worry a bit! I’m sure he’ll be fine. Won’t you Snufkin?”

They both looked to the right side of the veranda where Moominmamma was standing with Snufkin, who was looking very uncomfortable. Moominmamma was in charge of costuming and had Snufkin in a blue coat that was a bit short for him.

“Moominmamma, I know this is for the play, but I’m not comfortable with new clothes.”

“Oh, this coat isn’t new at all dear. It’s much older than you.”

“Snufkin!” Moominpappa called louder. “You’ll be fine falling out of a window, won’t you?”

Snufkin looked over at him, blinking. “Well-”

“Is that my old coat?”

Moominpappa jumped and wheeled around. Joxter was standing behind him, grinning. 

“Joxterpappa! What are you doing here? You should be resting.”

“Resting?” Snufkin repeated, looking back to Moominmamma.

Moominmamma straightened up, holding her hands in front of her lap. “Yes, unfortunately, Joxter has taken ill. Nothing a bit of rest won't fix.”

“Yes, and you’re being quite loud. What are you doing?” Joxter asked.

“Nothing that you need to worry about.” Moominpappa picked up Joxter under his arms and tossed him off of the veranda. “Don’t need troublemakers about.”

Joxter landed on his feet, looking up at Moominpappa. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I don’t need you running around putting fish in our beds, or jam on our door handles, or…” Moominpappa trailed off, eyes narrowed.

In the afternoon light Joxter’s pupils were slits, so thin that they were almost impossible to see.

Moominpappa watched him, eyes narrowed, letting out a breath.

Joxter’s lips twisted into a sharp smile, and he turned to walked towards the forest.

“He’s already done something,” Moominpappa realized in horror. He looked over to Moominmamma. “We need to search the house. What if he put a dead frog in the oven? Or painted the bathtub red? What if he rearranged the pages of my memoir? You two!” Moominpappa said, pointing to Snufkin and Moomin. “Go through your lines, and when the Snorks and Sniff get here do it again. Come Mamma, let’s find what rule he broke.” With that Moominpappa dashed inside.

“Oh dear,” Moominmamma sighed, turning to both of them with a smile. “Well, make sure to get out and have fun later. No need to read it more than twice.” She followed Moominpappa inside.

“We don’t count as troublemakers?” Snufkin took off the blue coat.

“Guess not.” Moomin walked over to him, sitting down in a chair.

“We need to try harder than.”

Moomin chuckled and then sighed. “Still, we probably should start running lines.”

Snufkin took up his script, looking over the page with a nod. “This was a mistake.”

* * *

He found Joxter stuck in the woods after the sun went down.

Snork had never even shown up, leaving the four of Moomin, Snorkmaiden, Snufkin, and Sniff to run their lines. They hadn’t even got halfway through before Snufkin put down his script and climbed over the railing. “I think I’ve done enough for one day,” he had said as he dropped on the other side.

“We’re not even to the bit with the Hemulen’s aunt yet,” Sniff complained.

“Snufkin and I already went over our lines,” explained Moomintroll.

Snorkmaiden crossed her arms. “We should be going over our lines together.”

“Snork’s not even here to do his lines!”

“Well there goes Snufkin,” Sniff said as he watched Snufkin disappear into the trees.

Moomin stood up quickly, but sighed and sat back down. “We should go over our lines some more. He probably wants to be alone anyway.”

“Plus you’ve got the most lines in the play. The more practice the better.”

Moomin nodded, lowering his eyes to the script. “Yes, let’s keep going.” And the three of them went back to their readings, skipping the lines of two rather important characters.

Snufkin spent the evening in the forest, wandering and listening to his heart’s delight. The summer was still terribly hot and dry, but under the shade of the trees, it was more bearable.

He was feeling better. Learning more about Joxter... helped. They were rather similar, he found, to where even both of them hated park keepers. And run away when social engagements when they become too much.

It was… reassuring? In some strange way.

Knowing that their actions were similar.

Knowing that Joxter had wanted him.

And maybe he wasn’t sure why yet he had spent most of his life mostly alone, but at the very least it was a start.

When the first stars started to appear he headed back. He hadn’t eaten dinner yet, and maybe he could see Moomin before they went to bed. He lit his small lantern and started making his way back to Moominhouse.

Snufkin stumbled into the clearing, and there stood Joxter, and for a second Snufkin smiled, before he saw the state he was in.

Joxter stood almost still in the small clearing. Even from the short distance, Snufkin could see his shoulders shaking.

“Joxter?” Snufkin called out, walking closer.

He didn’t respond, but Snufkin was close enough to see that the shaking was actually shivering. In the low light of the lantern Joxter’s eyes reflected a pale green.

“Joxter,” Snufkin said even louder, getting even closer.

He could hear Joxter’s breathing, quick and harsh. Snufkin raised his lantern, and the bits of Joxter’s skin not covered in black fur were pale. The fur on his tail was puffed out.  


He looked terrified. His eyes were unfocused, but wide, and wet. The lantern illuminated tear tracks down his cheeks.

“Papa?”

Joxter’s eyes were completely golden.

Snufkin reached out to touch him but pulled away at the last moment. He set the lantern down next to Joxter. “I’m... going to go get Moominpappa and Moominmamma. I’ll be right back.”

And he started running.

* * *

Everyone was running.

He had gone to get Moominpappa and Moominmamma, and wasn’t surprised that Moomin followed behind.

It wasn’t difficult to find their way back, Snufkin had kept note of the path he had used, and the lantern certainly helped once they got close enough.

The four of them stepped into the small clearing, and Moominmamma let out a small gasp. “Oh dear.”

Moominpappa hurried over, looking him over. He waved his paw in front of Joxter’s eyes. “Joxterpappa? Joxter!”

“See, he’s not responding,” Snufkin said as he crossed his arms over his chest. Moomin came and stood next to him, placing a paw on Snufkin’s shoulder.

“What’s wrong with him?” Moomin asked.

Moominpappa sighed, looking at him closer. “I have a hunch… Why don’t you two head back to Moominhouse? We’ve got this covered.”

Snufkin immediately opened his mouth to argue, but Moomin grabbed his arm. He looked back to Moomin, who just nodded.

He sighed and nodded back. “All right, we’ll head back.”

“Good lads. Don’t worry, you’re old papa will be right soon enough.”

He let Moomin lead him to the trees, and without even speaking they both started to move through the trees around the clearing as quietly as they could. Once they found a point where they were sure they weren’t able to be seen they crouched down, ducking under a fallen tree so they were even more camouflaged.

Snufkin felt Moomin take his paw, and he held onto it, but kept his eyes focused on the two papas.

Moominpappa waited a few moments and then sighed. “Stand back,” Moominpappa said, gesturing her back. Moominmamma only backed up a few feet behind him.

Moominpappa looked down at Joxter, who’s eyes were still gold, and was still just looking off. He took a deep breath, looked back to make sure Moominmamma was far enough away.

He took ahold of Joxter’s shoulders and shook them.

They hadn’t realized just how far Joxter could open his mouth, and just how many sharp teeth were in there.

Those sharp claws glinted in the moonlight.

Moominpappa cried out, grabbing his face and curling down and away. Moominmamma rushed to his side. Moomin would have cried out too, if not for Snufkin covering his mouth quickly.

Joxter ran on all fours, away.

And then he stopped. So quickly that his feet went out from under him and he landed on his back. “Moomin!” He rolled over and lept up with a jump.

Moominpappa’s paws were still on his face, but he lifted one away to wave at Joxter. “It’s fine, it’s fine, it’s just a scratch.”

“Come on dear, let me see,” Moominmamma said, leaning over him to try to get a look at it.

“I didn’t get you in your eye did I?”

“No, no, it’s fine.” Moominpappa straightened up and lifted his hands away from his cheek. Three scratches, two rather close together and one further away, ran across his cheek, matting his fur with blood around it. Despite the bleeding, it didn’t look particularly deep.

Under Snufkin’s paw, Moomin made a small, muffled whimper.

“I’m sorry Moomin, I…” Joxter trailed off as an owl hooted in the distance. He looked around, and then up. “It’s night! How long have I been out here?”

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Moominmamma asked, using the edge of her apron to mop up some blood on Moominpappa’s fur.

“You lot were being loud this morning, so I went into the woods to find a quiet place to sleep.” Joxter blinked a few times and then letting a small sigh of annoyance. “I’ve been standing here all day.” He wrapped his left arm around himself, grabbing a hold of his jacket, and trying to pull it tighter around him. Joxter was still shivering. He put the claws of his right ring finger and pinkie in his mouth.

“Was it your forebodings?” Moominpappa asked.

Joxter over at him, frowning. He took his two claws out of his mouth and started on the forefinger of the same hand.

“Whenever you’ve mentioned them in the past… well, your eyes were strange. Little bit yellow in them. A few moments ago your eyes were completely yell- please tell me you're not licking my blood off of your claws.”

Joxter sighed, taking his finger out of his mouth, and rubbing the back of his neck. “I was just cleaning them off. And yes.”

Moominpappa let out a small groan of disgust and then fell silent for a moment. “I’ve never seen you like that before.” 

“It gets stronger as I get older. And it’s only once in a while when it’s big or worse than usual it takes over. Makes you watch.”

“Well, what did you see?”

“Nothing very interesting. I suppose it was reminding me of how difficult Moominvalley winters are?” Joxter shrugged.

The two Moomin parents stopped at looked at him. “You’re planning on staying through the winter?” Moominpappa asked.

“I was... thinking about it.”

“Well, we would be delighted to have you,” Moominmamma said as she stopped cleaning Moominpappa’s cheek. “We should get you both back to Moominhouse. A warm bath might be in order.”

She picked up the lantern and took Moominpappa’s hand. Moominpappa, in turn, wrapped his arm around Joxter’s shoulders and started taking him with them. As they were leaving the clearing Joxter’s eyes focused on where Moomin and Snufkin were. He then looked down and away.

* * *

Snufkin lit a fire when they returned. Moomin sat down with him. He didn’t offer to leave, and Snufkin didn’t tell him to go. They sat in silence, on the same log, paw in paw.  


It didn’t take long for Joxter to join them. He had escaped out a window, and sat across from them, as close to the fire as he could get. His fur was wet, and he was wearing one of Moominpappa’s nightshirts and a rather large yellow shawl over his shoulders. He joined their silence, just warming himself at the fire.

“I can tell you why, if you want.”

Snufkin startled, looking over at Joxter.

Joxter didn’t blink, his eyes were red in the low light.

“Tell me what?”

Joxter sat down across from him. “Why.”

Snufkin huffed out a bit. “Well, why then?”

“Why what?”

Snufkin blinked at him. “What do you mean? You’re the one who brought it up.”

“I thought you might want to ask me a question or two. I’m sure that I could guess, but I also thought maybe you would want to ask.”

He looked over at Joxter, and Joxter blinked slowly.

Snufkin looked away, at Moomintroll, who was still holding his paw and looking rather unsure if he was supposed to be there or not. He tightened his hold on Moomin.

They fell into silence again.

“Well… that’s a lovely shawl,” Moomin said to fill the silence.

Joxter smile softly, reaching up to touch it. “It is. Mymble made it for me.”

“Mymble?” Snufkin repeated.

“Little My’s- well, your mother,” Moomin explained.

Joxter started untying the knot. “Mymble enjoys trying new things, and I was around when she made shawls.” He moved closer, spreading it out over his lap so they could see the pattern. It was full of flowers and patterns and colors and it was busy and just a lot.

“She made this for you?” Snufkin asked as he reached out to touch it.

“Oh no, this is one she made for herself. I um, stole it before I left. The one she made for me was all these blues and a bit of white. I think it was meant to look like the ocean. I left it there. I’ve had this one with ever since.”

“Why… did you leave?” Snufkin asked, feeling very unfair.

Joxter laughed a bit, putting the shawl back on. “This is going to be a long answer, and I’m not much of a storyteller. Have either of you met Mymble?”

“I have,” Moomin answered.

“I haven’t.”

Joxter nodded, moving into a more comfortable sitting position. “Well, when I met Mymble she was just… bright. Warm. Happy. Big. She’s… remarkable. We met at Jones’ party, and I couldn’t leave her side. I wasn’t the only one like that, of course. People like that often have others flock to them like moths to a flame, but I suppose I made a lasting impression. We talked, we danced, and in the morning I returned to the rest of the crew… or maybe we were colonists by that point? I don’t remember… anyway, Mymble and her eldest daughter Mymble became friends of ours. A lot of stuff happened. The younger Mymble joined our colony, there was this thing with a ghost, Mymble joined us in Hodgkins’ submarine, Muddler got married to Fuzzy, Little My was born, Moominmaiden join us, I feel like I might have missed some things?” Joxter tilted his head in thought before waving it away. 

“Well, anyway, we moved inland, and we traveled, and eventually we found this valley. It was Moomin, Moomin, Hodgkins, Muddler, Fuzzy, and I. Moomin was the one who wanted to name it, started calling it Moominvalley, and we started work on Moominhouse. Not long after it was done Moomin and Moomin were married, Mymble had come to the wedding, and when she left, I went with her.”

Joxter was quiet for a moment, tilting his head as he considered his next words. “It was very… comfortable. We were both friends, we both enjoyed each other’s company, and we were together. It wasn’t monogamous, but I never expected it to be. At that point, I never wanted much more than her. We were always friends, sometimes we were lovers, and I always loved her. I lived in Mymble’s manor, enjoyed being around her kids, caused trouble, and stayed by her side. And one-day Mymble suggested we should start trying to have a few kids of own, and I… wanted that. More than anything.” Joxter shrugged as though he had said the simplest thing in the world. “But then we realized that…” He stopped and let out a small huff. “That despite being together for quite a while we… hadn’t had any children.

“I think it scared her. She had never had those sorts of troubles before. She had three other kids while we were trying, I think to reassure herself, and I still don’t know what I was doing wrong-” Joxter’s voice shattered, and his shivering had returned. He put a paw over his mouth and turned away from them, eyes closed.

Snufkin froze, and he had absolutely no idea what to do. Moomin, who thank the stars was still there, reached forward to comfort him.

Joxter held up a paw to stop him. He wiped his eyes and pulled the shawl around him tighter. “Anyway, back to the story. Eventually, we stopped trying, because it hurt too much. Um… it was difficult, but she was there for me, and I was there for her, and it was comforting. And we were like that for a while too, and then we were comfortable again. And one day I woke up, and I realized that I lived on a boat. And then I lived in a fruit tree next to a house, and then I lived in that house, and then I lived in a different house, and then I lived in Mymble’s manor. And then I went throughout my day, my eyes focused on the horizon, and slept in Mymble’s bed. And not long after that I woke up and realized I was completely miserable. And I had been miserable for a very long time, so much so that it was comfortable.” He sounded confused and lifted in his hand in a shrug.

“But I stayed. I hated it, I hated getting up, and I hated going to bed. I hated that I couldn’t keep my eyes off the horizon and I hated that I loved her.” He tilted his head back and let out a small breath. “And she noticed. Of course, she did. One day Mymble chopped down my favorite fruit tree, and we burned it together. We went to bed together, and that night I left. I ran for that horizon faster than I had ever before, but so much of me wanted to just turn around. I came back to Moominhouse, and it was just Moominhusband and Moominmatron. Everyone else had left while I was away. They were having their own troubles, and I stayed with them for a while. Last night I was there the three of us wished on a new moon, and I think we all made the same wish. And I left.”

Joxter lifted his eyes to look at both of them. “And now I’m back.”

The door of Moominhouse opened and closed. Moominmamma stood outside the door, looking out at them.

Joxter stood up, still holding the shawl tightly around him. “I should head back inside. Moominmamma said she would make medicine for me, and I haven’t actually eaten anything today. Good night.” And with that, he started walking up to Moominhouse.

Moomin watched him greet Moominmamma and go inside. Snufkin didn’t turn away from the fire.

They sat in silence for a long time before Moomin finally spoke.

“Do you want me to leave?”

“I don’t know,” Snufkin admitted, hiding away under his hat.

Moomin nodded a little bit and looked away. “Well, for right now I can stay, and when you want me to go tell me.”

Snufkin nodded, not trusting his voice.

And they sat together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So fun facts about me, I started this fic having only watched the first season of Moominvalley and read The Exploits of Moominpappa. That's it, and the main reason I read The Exploits of Moominpappa was that I wanted to read about the Joxter, so I could write an older version of him, plus to get the backstory for the play. I've only just started reading the books mostly in order (I'm on Finn Family Moomintroll) but I listened to the audiobook of TEoM again before writing this chapter). But that's why they lived together at Moominhouse in Moominvalley besides the house was on the island in the book because I forgot that they were different houses. And the flood in Moominvalley 2019 is so different from the one in the books, so that also messed with the backstory a bit which made it even more different from the book.
> 
> So, sorry that this chapter took so long, I hope you all enjoy it!


	6. Cat's Eye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've added the tag sickfic as I'm pretty sure this counts as one now, and I feel that's a necessary warning with what's going on these days. That's also why this is at the beginning and not the end so you get this warning. Also I fixed something I screwed up in the last, which is what claws Joxter licks Moominpappa's blood off of. He licks it off of the forefinger, ring finger, and pinkie so you don't have to go back and read it for people who have already read that chapter. Oh and for anyone that's curious:
> 
> ferns: Sincerity, fascination, magic, confidence, and shelter  
> forget-me-nots: True love, forget me not, memories  
> magnolias: Love of nature, dignity, nobility, perseverance  
> traveler’s joy: safety, rest  
> periwinkles: tender recollections, sweet remembrance, pleasing remembrances, early recollections, pleasure of memories, sweet memories

The summer continued, still blistering and dry. The water level of the stream near Moominhouse had started to go down as everything dried up, and the plants were wilting.

The heat, however, didn’t stop play practice.

Joxter’s old blue jacket was beautifully made longer through strangely matching patchwork and lovely embroidery around the cuffs and collar of ferns, forget-me-nots, magnolias, traveler’s joy, and periwinkles. Moomin had apparently helped Moominmamma with it. It was just laying backstage, as it was just too warm to wear it.

“Stop!” Moominpappa called out. “Let’s…” He sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Let’s take a small break and regroup in a moment, eh?” He then went back to a small table he had set up where he had his script and a pen. He looked over the script, one paw absentmindedly reaching up to rub lightly at the scabbing scratches across his cheek. They were healing nicely, and one could barely notice them, only telling where they were by the little gaps in the fur they caused.

It wasn’t difficult to convince them, and they all hurried backstage to get out of the sun.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this again,” Snork muttered as he sat down in the only chair, a plush armchair from Moominhouse.

“It’s not that bad,” Moomintroll immediately argued, sitting down on a prop treasure chest.

“I thought the play last year was rather… interesting, once everything was settled,” Snufkin sat down on the floor, using his own hat to fan himself. 

“That’s because you weren’t in it.” Snork blinked, looking down at Snufkin. “Why are you in the play? You don’t usually do things like this.”

Snufkin shrugged, moving slightly as Snorkmaiden sat down beside him. He was now fanning both of them. “I volunteered to play Joxter. Otherwise he wouldn’t be in it.”

Snork frowned and opened his mouth to speak, but Sniff cut him off.

“I’m not sure if I like the Joxter,” Sniff muttered, trying to get behind Snufkin and Snorkmaiden to enjoy the fanning as well.

“Sniff!” Snorkmaiden scolded, twisting around to glare at him.

Snufkin crammed his hat back on his head, standing up and crossing their little group to lean against the wall.

“You shouldn’t say that! And since when? You seemed fine with him just the other day,” Moomin said.

“Since I found out how dangerous he was!”

They all looked around at each other, mostly out of confusion, but Snufkin stared at Moomintroll under the brim of his hat, and when Moomin met his eyes Moomin just shook his head and shrugged.

Snorkmaiden raised an eyebrow. “Sniff just the other day we saw him laying in the washtub, and when Moominmamma picked him up and set him aside he didn’t even move. He doesn’t seem very dangerous.”

“He’s the one who scratched Moominpappa’s face!” Sniff cried as he pointed at the wall, towards where he assumed Moominpappa was.

Snork leaned forward. “What makes you think that?”

“Little My told me so.” 

“And what about it,” Snufkin muttered.

They all turned to face Snufkin, most surprised, one wincing.

“So he did do it then?” asked Snork.

“It was an accident.”

“Oh dear, what happened?” Snorkmaiden asked.

Snufkin crossed his arms over his chest, his hat falling over his eyes. “I found Joxter… stuck in some sort of trance. I got Moominpappa and he shook him out of it, and Joxter was surprised. That’s all.”

“So you could have gotten clawed up?” Sniff cried out.

Snufkin opened his mouth, then closed it for a moment, looking off, but quickly returned to looking at Sniff under the rim of his hat. “Well... you’ve accidentally hit someone when you were scared before.”

“I don’t have sharp claws!”

“Now, what’s all this then?” They all turned, and Moominpappa stood there, paws on his hips. They all stopped to look at Moominpappa, and then to each other. Sniff was toeing the ground, Snufkin had crossed his arms over his chest, and lowered the brim of his hat so it covered most of his face.

“Sniff and Snufkin were having an argument,” Moomin told him after a few moments of no one saying anything.

Moominpappa huffed. “Well, there’s no need for that. Yes, perhaps certain new members of our troupe can’t carry their energy throughout the entire play-” Snufkin lifted his eyes back up and stared at Moominpappa, a bit taken aback. “But we can make it work. I have an idea-”

“Have I been doing badly?” Snufkin looked around at everyone. “I thought I was doing… well, maybe not as good as everyone else, but well enough.”

“No, you’ve been doing great Snufkin, everyone knows this is your first time,” Snorkmaiden reassured.

Moomin cleared his throat, leaning to his father. “They were arguing about Joxter.”

It was Moominpappa’s turn to look a bit taken aback, half glancing behind him, and then sighed. “Well, I suppose that would explain…” He looked back to his troupe and moved closer to them, lowering his voice. “First of all, Snufkin, you’re doing fine,” he attempted to reassure him. “I’ve just noticed that you… well, lack energy towards the end, more than the others. It makes sense, given that this is your first time acting in an ambitious project such as this, and people seem to make you tired in general. I do have an idea that might help, but for now-” Moominpappa looked between Snufkin and Sniff. “Why were you arguing about Joxterpappa?”

“He hurt you!” Sniff cried out before Snufkin could say anything.

Moominpappa leaned back in surprise, a paw covering the scratches on his cheek, but quickly recovered. “I know. You both were arguing about that?”

“He said he was frightened of Joxter,” Snufkin supplied, speaking in a tone of very obvious forced indifference.

“He hurt you! He could have hurt Snufkin! That’s not okay.”

Moominpappa was still for a moment, letting out a small huff, and then sighed while running his paw through the fur on his neck. “You are right, it’s not okay. But Joxter did apologize right after, and I know he didn’t mean to do it. He was just… well, frightened, I believe.”

“Snufkin said that Joxter just froze. You said he was frightened,” Snork commented, crossing his arms and tilting his head. “What happened?”

Moominpappa hummed to himself, rubbing his snout. “Joxter has this ability that he calls ‘forebodings’. He says it’s not actually seeing the future, but that’s what it always seemed like to me-”

“Don’t describe it like that.” Moominpappa turned sharply, and there behind him on the stage sat Joxter, still in his coat, shivering under blanket wrapped around his shoulders. In one paw he had an apple, and in the other he held a knife. “You’re making it sound much more helpful and much less annoying then it actually is.” Joxter’s unblinking, startling blue eyes, still looking so bright even under the shadow of his hat, looked over the group, his eyes landing on Sniff. After a few seconds his eyes drifted off to land on Moominpappa. “I need to talk to you.”

“Was your cousin really eaten by the Groke, or was that just something Moominpappa wrote?” Snork called out from behind the group, as he was the farthest away from the stage.

“Are you calling my papa a liar?” Moomin said, placing his paws on his sides and turning towards Snork.

“Everyone knows that Moominpappa exaggerates sometimes,” Snork argued.

“Eaten by the Groke? Well, I suppose something like that happened…” Joxter responded thoughtfully as he cut up the apple.

“I think you were more making a point about mathematics,” Moominpappa muttered as he started going through the script.

Joxter made a gagging noise, and popped the bit of apple in his mouth. He chewed it open mouthed, tilting his head, and using his tongue in an attempt to keep it in alignment with his teeth. Once he managed to chop it into smaller bites, he swallowed. “I hate mathematics. That sounds like something I would do. I still have to ask you a question.” He turned his attention to Moominpappa. “It shouldn’t take long, and then you can get back to…” Joxter trailed off, looking at the half-painted background, tilting his head. “What you were doing.”

Moominpappa came out and stood next to him, gesturing to the background. “It’s the king’s party.”

Joxter nodded. “Daddy Jones.”

“No, don’t…” Moominpappa squeezed his eyes close and rubbed his snout. “Don’t call him that. What do you want?”

“Do you remember the story we told you about when we first entered the valley, and we came across that big… um…”

Moominpappa tilted his head, thinking back. “You both said it was a deer, wasn’t it? A very, very large deer with black fur…”

Joxter shook his head, but ultimately just shrugged. “I don’t know, sure. I mostly remember it tasting good. Do you remember we said we buried the carcass, and we showed you that big rock, the one with our name on.”

“Oh!” Moominpappa brightly said. “You mean the-” and Moominpappa said a foreign word that started out with a chattering and ended with a little trill. “Rock.”

Joxter’s eyes widened the slightest amount. “Where’d you learn that?”

“Well, you. That’s what you called it back then.”

“You remember that?”

“Of course! My pronunciation was spot on, was it?” Moominpappa said proudly.

Joxter tilted his head, a ghost of a smile on his face. “Better than I expected. But I still have my question. I want to go see it, but I can’t remember where it is…”

Moominpappa stared at Joxter for a long moment. He broke after a few moments, hurrying to shuffle the papers in his paws. “Oh, well, I know the way, of course, but it is a bit of a hike. Moominmamma would have my head if I let you-”

“Let me?” Joxter’s face was expressionless, and his words were careful and purposefully pointed.

Moominpappa huffed. “That’s not what I… Joxter…” He stopped and tapped his foot a few times on the ground. “We’re worried,” he admitted.

“Oh.” Joxter turned back to his apple.

“‘Oh’?” Moominpappa repeated darkly, holding out his paw to Joxter. Joxter, seemingly without thought, held out his elbow to Moominpappa, and he pulled Joxter up. “And what do you mean by that?” He asked tightly.

“Nothing at all.” Joxter shook the blanket off of his shoulders and started towards the edge of the stage, gaining speed. He then suddenly stopped, staring down at his paws, eyes slightly wide.

“Please tell me you weren’t about to jump to shore with your paws full, one of which was holding a knife?” Moominpappa’s rhetorical question had started out slow, but was slowly gaining volume.

“Do you think we can leave yet?” Snorkmaiden whispered to the rest of them. “It’s weird watching them argue.”

“Who is this guy?” Snork asked softly.

“Snufkin’s dad Joxter,” Moomin replied quietly.

“What? They’re related?” Snork asked, looking between Joxter and Snufkin.

“Can’t you tell? They’re wearing the same hat.” Sniff pointed out.

Moomin huffed and crossed his arms. “Sniff that’s not-”

They were cut off by Moominpappa letting out an angry groan, throwing up his paws while Joxter just cut a bit more of his apple. “Fine, fine, a quick hike to get the blood pumping.”

“Yes I was always going to do that. You don’t need to come with,” Joxter responded.

“We’ll come with too,” Snufkin announced, taking Moomin by the arm.

“Um, yes!” Moomin said, turning to Moominpappa and Joxter. “A fathers-sons hike. Just what the doctor ordered.”

Moominpappa tilted his head, thinking.

Joxter nodded. “Do you three want to come too?” He asked Snork, Snorkmaiden, and Sniff.

“Ummm…” Snorkmaiden started.

“We’ve got to get home,” Snork said.

Sniff remained quiet and stepped sideways behind Snorkmaiden.

“Fair enough. Can you hold my apple?” Joxter handed his apple off to Moominpappa and sheathed his knife. He walked to the edge of the stage, went on all fours, and leaped across the water to shore.

“Well, I suppose we can be done for the day,” Moominpappa announced, heading over to the boat they had used to get to the theater. “We’ll just have to work doubly hard tomorrow.”

“Moominpappa?” Snufkin walked over him and started helping untie the rope. He was speaking quietly so that the “Why are you so worried? Joxter seems fine, other than the shivering.”

Moominpappa didn’t look up from the rope. “He should remember where the rock is. He and Muddler were the ones that put it there.”

“It was a long time ago.”

Moominpappa was quiet for a bit. “When we first came to Moominvalley it was winter. A very early, and very harsh winter. Moominmamma, Fuzzy, and I all fell into hibernation rather suddenly at the beginning of snowfall, and Hodgkins followed us after as he hadn’t been eating enough. In the spring we woke to find Joxter and Muddler… well, both of them had nightmares about it until they left the valley. Muddler swore he wouldn’t spend another winter in Moominvalley ever again. Whatever animal is buried under that rock helped them survive, and that’s not something he would misplace.” Moominpappa sighed, and his shoulders dropped for a second. “That’s not all. He hasn’t been sleeping as much as he used to, and… well, I’m not sure about this last one but he seems a bit more apathetic than usual? Probably not around you, goodness knows he seems to constantly worry about trying to build a relationship with you while still respecting your space but…” Moominpappa paused, planning out his words. “He’s not taking care of himself. Helping Joxter was always trouble since he’s always been a bit closed off, but now it’s like he doesn’t care one way or the other about his health. And that worries me.”

Snufkin nodded slowly, and quickly finished untying the knot. “We’re all ready,” he called to the others, standing back up.

They all climbed into the rowboat and left the theater, heading to where Joxter was waiting on the shore.

* * *

The hike was mostly quiet. Every once in a while Moominpappa tried to make conversation, only to be given one word answers from Snufkin, and Joxter didn’t seem to even realize that people were even trying to talk to him.

They followed Moominpappa past Moominhouse and towards the edge of the valley and the beginning of the mountains, which of course meant steeper hills. They’re progress was slowed, both by the change in slope and by Joxter having to stop every once in a while to catch his breath. He always did so without telling them, leaving one of them to notice, usually Snufkin or Moominpappa, and call to the others to wait.

Once they had climbed up a few hills the earth leveled off for a bit, and the trees in one spot were sparse, allowing them to look over the valley and towards the ocean in the distance. Joxter stopped there, breathing deeply, and just looking.

Moominpappa came and stood next to him, his eyes filled with wonder and nostalgia as he took a deep breath of the air that blew over them. “I can almost smell it from here. Brings back memories, eh?”

And Joxter was just… looking. As though it was just anything, anything else but the place he spent years and years of his life with three very close friends. As though it was any other tree in any other forest. He turned to answer Moominpappa, and caught his expression, and Joxter pressed his lips together, his eyes narrowed, and a sour expression came over his face. It hardly lasted, and just as quickly as it had come Joxter turned away from Moominpappa, pulling the brim of his hat down over his face. He let out a small puff of air that came out in a fog, and his shoulders slumped, and when he lifted his head, he just looked exhausted. “Yes, I suppose.”

Moominpappa scoffed, shoving at Joxter’s shoulder playfully. “You ‘suppose’.”

Joxter huffed a bit, and straightened his hat. “Come on, I feel like we’re close.”

Moominpappa huffed right back, looking over at Snufkin and Moomintroll. “He’s right, come on. You two might find this interesting anyways.” And he continued to lead them up one more hill, and then once they reached the plateau of that hill veered off to the left. Into the forest.

It wasn’t a terribly difficult walk, but it did take a bit, and walking through the trees and brush did make them far slower. Finally, they reached a rather large clearing, and in the center was a medium sized rock to everyone but Joxter.

“Well, here it is,” Moominpappa announced, striking a bit of a pose with his paw out to indicate it.

Snufkin, Moominpappa, and Moomin moved in closer. Painted at the very top of the rock was a compass-like rune. At north, east, south, and west there were long wiggly lines, and at northwest, southwest, southeast, and northeast there were short, straight lines. At the center of all these lines was an eye, but instead of a dot for a pupil there was a single line.

Below the eye rune there were names in rows. The first in the first row was in an entirely different language, but it was followed by Muddler, Hodgkins, Fuzzy, Moomintroll, and Moominmaiden, the last two had bits crossed out and replayed with pappa and mamma.

“Did you add more names to it?”

The three of them turned to see Joxter was squinting at the rock, and hadn’t even entered the clearing.

Moominpappa cleared his throat, and rubbed his paw against his neck. “We did, I hope you don’t mind.”

Joxter didn’t say anything, and only hesitated for a second before joining them in front of the rock. He continued to squint down at the new names. “Well, who’s did you add?” He asked Moominpappa.

“Well, Moomintroll, Snufkin, and Sniff of course. Along with Little My, Snork and Snorkmaiden… You did say it was for family.”

“Oh. I… guess that’s alright then.” Joxter stopped squinting, and just started circling the rock.

“What do you think he’s doing?” Moomin whispered to Snufkin, who only shrugged.

“I was trying to see if I could figure out what happened to me the other day. Forebodings don’t often completely take me over, and the vision I had wasn’t… understandable…”

The three of them exchanged a lot. “What does the rock have to do with your forebodings?” Moomin asked.

Joxter shrugged, and stopped walking. “Nothing at all maybe. Maybe everything. Hard to say.”

“Well, you could always try to force it,” Moominpappa pointed out.

Snufkin looked between the two of them. “Force it?”

Joxter let out a small noise of disgust. “I’ve done it three times before, and it’s always terrible afterwards. The time I did it on the ship I was sea sick for hours. Though,” he continued, running his claws through the fur on his face. “I do want answers.”

“Will this even give you answers?” Snufkin asked.

Joxter shrugged. “Only way to know is to try.”

They were all quiet for a moment, Moomin, Snufkin, and Moominpappa exchanging looks, while Joxter continued to stare down at the rock.

“Well,” Joxter said simply, and closed his eyes.

“Joxter-” Moominpappa started, holding out a paw towards Joxter.

When Joxter opened his eyes again they were gold, and then he blinked and they were blue again.

He only had a moment to look over them, grabbing onto the rock with his paw. And then he collapsed.

He was snoring before he even hit the ground.

Moominpappa and Snufkin rushed to his side, but as Moomin was about to follow them he stopped. Something had caught his eye.

“He’s just asleep,” Moominpappa reassured Snufkin.

“Are you sure?”

Moominpappa shook Joxter, who looked back up at both of them for a second. And then promptly fell back asleep. “I’m going to have to carry him down now,” Moominpappa huffed. He took Joxter’s hat and handed it off to Snufkin. “Carry this. We should head back, Mamma isn’t going to be happy about this.”

They both stood back up, Snufkin with Joxter’s hat and Moominpappa with Joxter. They both started towards the woods again when Snufkin paused.

He looked down at Joxter’s hat, moving his thumb against something raised. There was something stitched into the rim.

“Snufkin.”

He turned back to Moomin, who was pointing to the rock. Where Joxter had grabbed it there was a layer of frost.

* * *

The next day Snufkin marched up to Moominhouse with Joxter’s hat in one paw and a few fish he had caught that morning in the other. Moominmamma accepted the fish with a smile and pointed him up the stairs.

As he started to walk towards it she called out which room he was in.

If Snufkin hesitated before opening the door, then well, that was no one’s business but his own. 

Joxter’s green coat was hung up on the coat rack. 

Joxter was laying still in the guest bed, eyes closed, seemingly asleep. He could see every breath as Joxter breathed out. It came out as a whist mist and hung in the air for a few seconds, and then it was gone.

“Hello Snufkin.”

Snufkin froze in the doorway. Joxter hadn’t moved other than to speak. Snufkin straightened himself and stepped further in, closing the door behind him. “How did you know it was me?”

“Your boots. You and Little My are the only ones that wear them, and it’s easy to tell your steps apart.”

“Oh.”

And they were quiet.

“I should probably apologize,” Joxter groaned as he tried to sit up.

Snufkin blinked. “For what?”

“Well, I’m a complete stranger who’s come and said I was your father, and then almost immediately my sickness got worse.” He stopped his attempts and just fell back onto the mattress. “Isn’t making things easier.”

Snufkin shrugged, not looking at him. “It’s not your fault you got sick.”

Joxter shrugged. “It’s not helping anything either. Though, if I’m going to start apologizing for things there’s probably better things to start with.” He finally opened his eyes and looked over at Snufkin. “I was wondering where that went,” he nodded towards his own hat.

Snufkin looked down at the red hat. He flipped it over in his paws. “I have some questions.”

Those blue eyes watched Snufkin for a long while, and then he patted the bed next to him. “Then, I have answers. If the questions are what I think they are, this might take a bit. Come, lay down.”

Silently Snufkin came over and sat on the edge of the bed, laying the hat down on the bed between them. He watched Joxter, waiting.

Joxter only watched Snufkin, expressionless, and then he settled back against the pillow. “What do you want to hear about first?” He closed his eyes again.

“What did you see?”

“That it won’t rain until autumn.”

Snufkin frowned. “That doesn’t sound like a warning.”

“It wasn’t.”

Snufkin waited, but Joxter didn’t say anything else, and didn’t seem like he was going to.

“What about the rock? What's the point of it?”

“It’s a bit of a spiritual thing, a bit of a practical thing. It’s a family tree sort of thing, a grave marker for Our Grandmother, and asks Our Grandmother to watch over the people listed there.”

Snufkin tilted his head. “Your grandmother?”

“ _Our_ Grandmother. You would probably know her better as The Protector of All Mumrik.”

“Like The Protector of All Small Beasts?”

“Sort of.”

Snufkin moved closer to Joxter, pulling one of his legs up onto the bed. “Why do you call her Our Grandmother?”

Joxter opened his eyes and looked over at Snufkin. “I only know the version of the story that my grandmother told me, it’s been years since I last heard it, and it’s a bit long,” he warned.

Snufkin raised his eyebrows.

Joxter raised his eyebrows right back. “In the beginning-”

“ _Oh_ ,” Snufkin said with some realization. “It’s one of those stories.” He pulled both of his legs onto the bed and crossed them, not paying any mind what his boots would do to the bedspread. He sat facing Joxter, waiting for the rest of the story.

Joxter’s small shoulders shook, and he let out a small, wheezy laugh. “It is. Now, in the beginning, there was the land, the sky, and the sun, and I believe that was it. In this world, the being that would become Our Grandmother…” Joxter paused and tilted his head. “‘Traveled’ would be the exact translation, but not travel like we do. Travel… like how stories travel from person to person.” 

Joxter glanced over to Snufkin to make sure that the expiation he gave wasn’t confusing. “She traveled and traveled, and during this time she had nine children. They were all aspects of nature,” Joxter explained, turning to Snufkin again. “Four were the seasons, and as they traveled the seasons changed, a few left plants where they traveled, that sort of thing. I don’t remember them all, but my grandmother always put emphasis on the child that would bring night where they traveled. So-”

“Why did your grandmother put emphasis on that one?” Snufkin asked. During the story, he had leaned forward.

“Oh, that’s the one we’re descended from,” Joxter explained. “So Our Grandmother and her children traveled and traveled, and one day something attacked them, and they all got separated. And her children had children, and those children had children, and so on and so forth to this day. Our Grandmother still travels, but now she searches for her grandchildren, to try to watch over them.”

Joxter paused and looked back over to Snufkin. “Now we’re getting to the bit that has to do with the rock.”

Snufkin blinked and leaned back. “Oh. Yes. The rock.”

Joxter nodded, looking away from Snufkin and up to the ceiling. He balled his fists in the bedspread and was quiet for a long time. And then, finally, he started.

“When Our Grandmother finds groups of her grandchildren she… oversees them? Protects them when they need it, leads them somewhere safe when that’s necessary, gives certain members abilities to help out the community, and towards the end of their journey she comes to them in the form of a prey animal big enough to feed everyone. The mumrik settle close by where they hunted Our Grandmother, and they form a colony-”

“A colony?” Snufkin interrupted.

“Yes, a colony,” Joxter said as he waved his paw in circles in the air. “You know, a group of strangers in a country that don’t like to live alone. So they move together in the wilderness and start quarreling. Better than living alone.”

“I’m just surprised. I’ve always heard that mumrik were solitary beings.”

Joxter shrugged. “We’re just social in our own way. And the colony is more of a place to return to for a lot of mumrik. A safe place to rest. It’s also a place for children to grow up, a place for the sick and injured to heal, a peaceful place for the elders to die.”

“Did you grow up in a colony?”

“I did,” Joxter said simply, no inflection to his voice.

Snufkin hesitated for a moment. “Did you enjoy it?”

“It’s what I knew.” And then after a moment he continued. “I enjoyed living with my cousins.” He turned to Snufkin. “I know this is probably a lot, I could always finish it another time.”

“No no, I want to know.”

“Then you will.” Joxter cleared his throat. “So they settle close by, and they bury the carcass of the animal. It’s said that burying the remains helps the fertility of the soil. Then they put a large rock over the burial site and mark the rock with her symbol and write all the names of the mumrik in the colony on it so that she will continue to watch over not just the colony but the land they’re on.”

Snufkin nodded slowly. “There are no monsters in Moominvalley.”

“Moominvalley is surrounded by mountains and an ocean with only one road in and out. Not the ideal place for monsters.”

Snufkin raised his eyebrows. “You’re the one who set it up, weren’t you?”

“Well, Muddler and I.”

“So it’s okay? That Muddler helped you?”

Joxter looked at Snufkin for a long time. “I have something to show you.” Joxter grabbed his hat and started feeling along the edges. “You’ll have to lay down, I’m not sitting up.”

Snufkin let out a huff, and took off his hat. He flopped down next to Joxter, leaning close as Joxter started pointing out runes that were sewn into the underside of the rim of his hat in red thread. The first rune matched the one on the rock.

“This first one is Our Grandmother’s, then it’s my name, then it’s supposed to be my mother’s name, but I didn’t sow her name in, then this one-” he pointed to a rune similar to the rune on the rock, except that instead of eight lines it only had the four wiggly ones at north, south, east and west, and there were small dots in the eye’s iris. “This one marks which of the nine children you’re descended from, and then it’s the name of the colony. Mine could be read as ‘Our Grandmother’s Joxaren descended from Night of the Royal Outlaw Colony. It’s meant to be sown into your hat by someone who’s taken care of you, a bit of extra luck on the road, asking Our Grandmother to look after you, that sort of thing.”

Snufkin squinted as he remembered something from the play. “Isn’t that the name of the colony you formed with Moominpappa, Muddler, and Hodgkins?”

Joxter waved his hat a bit. “This is my second hat. I lost the first one in a storm. They bought me this one to replace it. I don’t think Our Grandmother cares at all about Moominvalley or any of the names on that rock that aren’t mine or yours, but they’re...” Joxter waved his paw in front of him in a sweeping motion and went quiet.

Snufkin looked away from Joxter, to his hat. “Your family?”

Joxter made an odd noise, a mix of a laugh and a gasp. “I… Yes, I...”

Snufkin nodded and went quiet for a bit, looking up at the ceiling. There was so much he had learned today, and honestly he wasn’t sure what to think about some of it. There were so many questions he could ask. “Can you translate my name into that language?”

“If you can talk Moominpappa into giving me more parchment and ink, and get my glasses out of my coat pocket I can try,” Joxter smiled.

* * *

Snufkin left the guest room holding a piece of parchment that had two eye-like runes on it and between them his name in Mumrik, nothing else. He flipped the parchment over in his paws a few times.

He descended the staircase, but paused halfway to the bottom. He turned towards one of the windows of Moominhouse, and his reflection stared back at him.

He thought about Joxter’s, _his father's_ , stories, and about Joxter’s night-like fur. He twisted his own auburn fur in his paw as he studied his reflection.

“Snufkin? Is everything alright dear?”

Snufkin turned sharply, pulling his paw away from his face so suddenly he hit it against the wall. Coming up the stairs was Moominmamma, holding what seemed to be a bowl of fish stew. “Everything’s fine Moominmamma.”

Momminmamma watched him for a moment, and then nodded. “And how’s our guest? Is he doing better?”

He shrugged. “He’s awake. Talking, telling stories.”

Momminmamma smiled down at him, and placed a paw on Snufkin’s shoulder. “That’s wonderful. And don’t you worry,” she continued after catching Snufkin’s expression. “Once we figure out what he’s down with we’ll have him right as rain in no time.”

He couldn’t quite meet her eyes. “You think so?”

“I do, and I know with time we’ll figure this out. Though if you do manage to get him talking again ask him to list all his symptoms properly.” She sighed and straightened up. “He only ever gives me half answers and insists that he’s fine.”

Snufkin nodded slowly. “Making it hard to help him.”

Moominmamma nodded, and sighed. “Joxter’s always been a bit like this I’m afraid, hiding when he’s needed help and things like that. He had gotten more… well, trusting of us, with time, but he’s been away for so long...” She was quiet for a bit, but just gave Snufkin a smile. “Well, people fall back into bad habits every once in a while. How’s your paw?”

It was fine, but Snufkin flexed his paw just to prove it. “I’m fine Moominmamma.”

She nodded, still smiling. “I’m glad. Oh, and thank you again for the fish.” Moominmamma moved past him and continued up the stairs. “There’s still some on the stove if you want to grab some on your way out.”

Snufkin didn’t say anything, just continued down the stairs. And then at the bottom he stopped, looked at the bit of parchment in his paw, and back up to where Moominmamma had been.

* * *

It wasn’t the door opening or closing that woke Moominpappa. Nor the creek of the floorboards as someone walked across them, or the squeak of the armchair being pushed.

It was the opening of the window.

Moominpappa snorted away, clearing his throat as he looked around. The window was now open, letting in the warm summer night breeze, the armchair had been pulled over to it, and in it sat Joxter. He was back in his green coat.

Carefully, so as not to wake Moominmamma, Moominpappa got up and walked over to Joxter.

His breathing was a bit heavy and he was shivering so much it looked painful.

Moominpappa walked over and stood next to him, holding out a paw. “Joxter, you should be in bed.”

Joxter didn’t even turn to look at him, just shook his head. “It's fine. I’m fine.”

**Author's Note:**

> My first Moomins fic, I hope I do the series justice.


End file.
